Jordan police say probing Syria refugee fire death

By The Associated Press
| 2:25 a.m.Aug. 20, 2012

A Jordanian security guard patrols the Zaatari Refugee camp to bring calm after more than 50 Syrian refugee youths tried to tear down an enclosure fence saying they wanted to flee in Mafraq, Jordan, Monday, Aug. 13, 2012. More than 3,300 refugees in the desert camp have expressed dissatisfaction with its harsh conditions, including extreme heat and cold and constant dust-laden winds as resource-poor Jordan struggles to deal with the influx of refugees from the Syrian civil war. (AP photo/Mohammad Hannon)
— AP

A Jordanian security guard patrols the Zaatari Refugee camp to bring calm after more than 50 Syrian refugee youths tried to tear down an enclosure fence saying they wanted to flee in Mafraq, Jordan, Monday, Aug. 13, 2012. More than 3,300 refugees in the desert camp have expressed dissatisfaction with its harsh conditions, including extreme heat and cold and constant dust-laden winds as resource-poor Jordan struggles to deal with the influx of refugees from the Syrian civil war. (AP photo/Mohammad Hannon)
/ AP

AMMAN, Jordan 
Jordanian officials say they are investigating the death of a Syrian refugee who died in a fire in Jordan's first refugee camp - the first such incident at the tent city.

The man, who was not identified, died on Monday morning after a fire broke out in one of the tents inside the Zaatari camp, the official Petra news agency reported. It cited a press statement issued by Jordan's General Security Directorate.

The statement said a police probe was underway to determine the circumstances of the man's death.

No other details were immediately available.

Jordan hosts the largest number of displaced Syrians, with more than 150,000 sheltering in the country.

Some 7,000 are located in the Zaatari camp near the northern border with Syria.